Calculating percent in date range Looker Studio can be a bit tricky, but don't worry, I've got you covered. In Looker Studio, you can calculate the percentage of a value within a date range using the "Pct of" function.
To do this, you need to use the "Pct of" function in combination with the "Date Range" filter. This function will calculate the percentage of a value within a specific date range.
To calculate the percentage, you'll need to set up a calculation that divides the value by the total value within the date range. For example, if you're calculating the percentage of sales within a date range, you'll need to divide the sales value by the total sales value within that range.
Calculating Percent Change
Calculating Percent Change is a crucial step in understanding the data in Looker Studio.
To calculate the percent change, you need to subtract the original value from the new value and divide by the original value. For example, if the original value is 100 and the new value is 120, the percent change is (120 - 100) / 100 = 20%.
The percent change formula can be expressed as ((New Value - Original Value) / Original Value) * 100.
Understanding Google Studio Basics
Google Studio is a free tool that allows you to create, share, and collaborate on data visualizations.
To get started, you need to create a new project in Google Studio, which involves selecting a data source, choosing a chart type, and setting up filters.
Google Studio has a user-friendly interface that makes it easy to navigate and understand.
Google Studio Literals
In Looker Studio, literals are used to specify constant values of built-in datatypes. They're essential for building calculated fields.
There are four types of literals: string literals, date literals, numeric literals, and boolean literals.
String literals specify constant values of strings using single or double quotation marks, such as "John Doe" and 'John Doe'.
Date literals specify the date and time values, preceded by appropriate markers, like DATE '2023-9-3' and DATETIME '2023-9-3 18:30:00'.
Numeric literals are unquoted floating point values, such as 1, 2, and 3.33. You can use them in calculated fields, like in the example (IF order_value < 100, …..).
Boolean literals are used when working with boolean expressions, and they're simply true or false. You can use them in formulas, like IF(Boolean field = true, "yes"",no").
Here's a summary of the four types of literals in Looker Studio:
Data Transformation and Formulas
Data Transformation and Formulas are essential tools in Looker Studio for creating calculated fields. You can hide specific columns, filter or sort data, and add additional columns in the data transformation step. To create a new calculated column, click the Formula button on the top of the data preview.
To create a formula, you can use various logical operators, functions, and existing fields. You can even combine two distinct dimensions with a hyphen between them, like city and country names. The formula can be as simple as arithmetic calculations or as complex as manipulating string data or transforming time data.
You can use basic arithmetic operators, predefined functions, and branching logic to derive new fields. For example, you can create a calculated field to perform arithmetic calculations, manipulate string data, transform and manipulate time data, or perform logical operations. Calculated fields offer functionality equivalent to spreadsheet formulas and functions.
Calculating Percent Change Down Columns Using Offset()
Calculating percent of previous and percent change down columns is a crucial task in data analysis. This can be achieved using the offset() table calculation function.
The offset() function lets you reference values from other rows in the same column, making it perfect for these types of calculations.
To calculate percent of previous, you can use the offset() function to reference the previous row's value in the same column.
For example, if you have a column of sales figures and you want to calculate the percent of previous sales for each row, you can use the offset() function to reference the previous row's sales figure.
The offset() function is particularly useful when working with data that needs to be analyzed over time, such as sales or revenue data.
You can use the offset() function to calculate percent change down columns by referencing the previous row's value and subtracting it from the current row's value, then dividing by the previous row's value.
This will give you the percent change from the previous row to the current row, which is a common calculation in data analysis.
What Are Fields?
Fields in data transformation are essentially metrics or dimensions created from existing fields by applying calculations or functions via formulas. Calculated fields extend the capabilities and information in the data sources.
You can create calculated fields to perform various operations, such as arithmetic calculations, manipulating string data, transforming and manipulating time data, and performing logical operations.
Calculated fields offer functionality equivalent to spreadsheet formulas and functions. They're helpful when you want to process the field before using it.
Here are some examples of what you can do with calculated fields:
- Perform arithmetic calculations
- Manipulate string data
- Transform and manipulate time data
- Perform logical operations
Building Formulas
You can use various logical operators, functions, and existing fields to create formulas in Looker Studio.
Formulas help you perform actions on existing fields and create new metrics or dimensions.
To create a formula, you can use basic arithmetic operators, predefined functions, and branching logic.
For example, you can use the AVG(X) function to return the average of all values of X.
You can also use conditional functions to assign values based on conditional logic.
For instance, the formula below will apply conditional logic to metric X and return “High” for values above 100 and “Low” for other values.
Date functions allow you to work with date fields, change the format, compare them, or manipulate the data.
The DATE_DIFF(X, Y) function returns the difference between two dates, X and Y, in days.
Geo functions allow you to convert codes into continent, subcontinent, country, region, and city names.
Text functions allow you to perform various operations on text strings, such as concatenation, formatting, and comparison.
The CONCAT(x, y) function will combine two strings, X and Y.
Regular Expressions (regex) can also be used in formulas, but alternative functions are available.
Here are some common functions you can use in Looker Studio formulas:
- Aggregation Functions: AVG, SUM, COUNT, etc.
- Conditional Functions: IF, CASE, etc.
- Date Functions: DATE, DATE_DIFF, etc.
- Geo Functions: TOCITY, TOCONTINENT, etc.
- Text Functions: CONCAT, FORMAT, etc.
- Other Miscellaneous Functions: HYPERLINK, IMAGE, etc.
Creating and Using Metrics
To create a custom metric, you can use a simple formula in Looker Studio, just like in Example 1: "How to create calculated fields in Looker Studio? – Complete tutorial". This allows you to get the Average Order Value, for instance.
You can create calculated fields in data before loading to Looker Studio, which is an efficient way to create calculated fields, as mentioned in Example 2: "How to create calculated fields for the data to be loaded to Looker Studio?". This method can be reused across charts and reports, doesn't cause performance issues, and is easier to manage.
Calculated fields can be used to get more out of your data, just like standard fields, as explained in Example 3: "How to use calculated fields in Looker Studio?". They can serve multiple purposes, including creating custom metrics, deriving dimensions, segmenting data, and cleansing data.
Here are some common uses of calculated fields:
- Create custom metrics: You can create new metrics from existing fields, such as getting the conversion rate from the number of conversions and total visitors.
- Derive dimensions: You can apply specific transformations to existing dimensions or apply logic to existing fields to get new dimensions, like getting the full name of the customer by combining first and last names.
- Segment data: You can segment data using the CASE WHEN conditions, classifying customers based on their age groups into “18-24”, “25-30”, and so on.
- Cleanse data: You can create a calculated field to cleanse it, like converting lowercase to uppercase and removing special characters.
Once you've created a metric, you can use it within a visualization, as shown in Example 4: "Using the Metric Within a Visualization". This involves searching for the newly created metric in the available fields, selecting it, and dragging it to the left-hand navigation pane.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to show percentage in Looker Studio?
To show percentage in Looker Studio, select "Number -> Percent" under Data Type for your metric and choose the "Percent" data type. This will automatically display your metric as a percentage without needing to multiply by 100.
Sources
- https://cloud.google.com/looker/docs/best-practices/how-to-calculate-percent-change-percent-previous
- https://blog.coupler.io/looker-studio-calculated-fields/
- https://cloud.google.com/looker/docs/best-practices/how-to-calculate-percent-of-total
- https://www.bounteous.com/insights/2018/04/20/enhancing-your-data-studio-report-calculated-fields/
- https://bowtiedopossum.com/calculate-percentages-in-google-data-studio/
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